ISRAEL will continue to broaden its air and naval attack on the
Gaza Strip over the weekend before an expected ground operation
that has revived internal fears that Israel is exposing itself to a
repeat of the disastrous 2006 war in Lebanon.

Hamas responded by declaring that all options, including
"suicide operations" against Jewish targets inside Israel and the
West Bank, were now open.

A senior Hamas spokesman, Ismail Radwan, told Hamas's Al-Aqsa
television network that the movement's military wing should attack
"Zionist interests everywhere in revenge for the assassination of
senior Hamas figure Nizar Rayan".

Hamas later issued a statement calling for a "day of anger"
against Jewish communities on the West Bank.

"We call on all our people to confront the Zionist occupation
soldiers and their settlers in every city, village and camp," the
statement said.

Hamas also demanded that Palestinian Authority security services
stop seeking to prevent revenge attacks. Israeli authorities
imposed a total closure on the West Bank yesterday.

The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, announced he would
head an Arab delegation to the United Nations in New York to work
towards an end to the military campaign in Gaza.

On Thursday Israeli military planners switched the war's focus
to direct attacks on leading Hamas figures, assassinating Mr Rayan,
Hamas's third-ranking official, in an air raid.

Israeli military sources said the defence forces rang Mr Rayan's
house to warn him of the attack and give his family time to leave,
"but they chose not to".

Early yesterday the air force struck a mosque in the refugee
camp of Jabaliya, which houses 100,000 people. A defence forces
spokesman, Captain Benjamin Rutland, said the mosque was being used
to store rockets and other weapons.

After seven straight days of bombing of the densely populated
Palestinian territory the Israeli attacks have killed 425
Palestinians and wounded 2100. Israeli officials have maintained
that most of the victims are Hamas operatives.

A spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency said the exact
number of casualties was unclear, but "at least 100 civilians have
been killed".

Despite mounting international pressure for a ceasefire, Israel
has maintained it will continue the campaign until Hamas's capacity
to attack Israel has been destroyed. The Israeli Foreign Minister,
Tzipi Livni, in a meeting with her French counterpart, Bernard
Kouchner, rejected calls for a 48-hour "humanitarian pause" and
denied there was a humanitarian crisis.

AAP reports that more than 2000 Sydney Muslims gathered in a
Lakemba park yesterday to protest against Israel's bombing raids on
Gaza and to urge the Federal Government to condemn the assault.

Air offensive &#133; descending shells explode during an Israeli
strike in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.

9060http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/the-eight-day-war/2009/01/03/1230681815066.htmlThe eight day wartext/html-documenthttp://www.smh.com.au/news/world/all-bets-are-off/2009/01/02/1230681746021.htmlAll bets are offtext/html-documenthttp://www.smh.com.au/news/world/life-in-the-hunger-queues/2009/01/02/1230681746024.htmlLife in the hunger queuestext/html-documenthttp://www.smh.com.au/news/world/gaza-leaders-death-a-coup-for-israel/2009/01/02/1230681746000.htmlGaza leader's death a coup for Israeltext/html-documenthttp://www.smh.com.au/news/world/new-front-forged-in-press-war/2009/01/02/1230681746006.htmlNew front forged in press wartext/html-documenthttp://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/israel-takes-little-comfort-from-obama/2009/01/02/1230681745680.htmlIsrael takes little comfort from Obamatext/html-documenthttp://www.smh.com.au/news/world/israel-in-allout-war-with-hamas/2008/12/29/1230399130849.htmlIsrael in 'all-out war' with Hamastext/html-documenthttp://www.smh.com.au/news/world/land-invasion-likely-as-french-ceasefire-bid-stalls/2008/12/31/1230681577343.htmlLand invasion likely as French ceasefire bid stallstext/html-documenthttp://www.smh.com.au/news/world/a-time-for-fighting-threat-to-invade-gaza/2008/12/28/1230399046097.htmlA time for fighting: threat to invade Gazatext/html-documenthttp://www.smh.com.au/news/world/hamas-leader-dies-in-israeli-raid/2009/01/02/1230681700162.htmlHamas leader dies in Israeli raidtext/html-document